Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Brett Neely
WASHINGTON

Food stamp program is still obstacle to farm bill's passage

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

With just a few weeks left before lawmakers take a holiday break, prospects for a speedy passage of the long-delayed farm bill appear to be fading.

The House and Senate farm bills take different approaches to rewriting commodity programs. But the biggest obstacle is the food stamp program, which makes up about 70 percent of the farm bill's overall spending of about $100 billion a year.

The House bill pushed by Republicans would cut $4 billion a year from that total. The Senate bill makes smaller cuts to food assistance - about $500 million a year.

The chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees will meet tomorrow to see if an agreement can be reached. But U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat who represents Minnesota's 1st District, isn't optimistic.

"We got this thing through the House, got it through the Senate, got it to conference," said Walz, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. "I'd just like to see something to vote on."

If lawmakers don't strike a deal and pass a bill by the end of the year, dairy prices could rise due to automatic provisions of the existing farm bill.